The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

A strategy, a strategy, our kingdom for a strategy

28th April, 2017
Advertisement
Ben Meehan of the Rebels reacts as Melani Nanai of the Blues scores a try during the round 1 Super Rugby match between the Melbourne Rebels and the Blues at AAMI Park in Melbourne, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. (AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)
Expert
28th April, 2017
51
1982 Reads

As the clock continues to tick and the executioner’s sword still hangs over the Rebels and Force, a realisation has struck me.

This whole decision about whether the ARU is going to break Melbourne or Perth hearts really should be very quick and easy to make. The fact that it’s not been, further demonstrates the total inability of the current leaders of the ARU to manage and grow the game.

Forget for a moment the politics and the emotion of this decision (which is harder to do for some than others) and look more at the process. The fact that the ARU has not been able to make this decision immediately indicates that they were not in a position to make that decision. Why were they not in a position to make that decision? They didn’t have all the information available to them.

Obviously these are complicated decisions that should be based on a well presented combination of objective statistics and subjective stories and ambitions. But – and here is my point – why don’t these already exist?

Why does the ARU not have a running profile of each Super Rugby club’s performance and strategy. The ARU should be able to analyse and report on any of the teams at any given point across a broad range of categories. On field performance, membership growth, merchandise sales, cost of operations etc etc. They should also have an up to date strategic document from each club that sets out their vision and plans for the coming seasons.

These measures and proposals should be informed by the ARU’s strategy and growth plans and then relevant aspects should flow down into the NRC and other layers of rugby in the country. That way there is a consistent feel in terms of plans, ambition, performance and measurement at all levels of the game and all these areas are working towards a common set of goals.

Sure the focus for the Melbourne Rising team might be different to those of the Queensland Reds but they should all tie together in some key areas to support the overall prosperity and growth of the game across the country.

Melbourne Rising coach Zane Hilton

Advertisement

Each club should have a set of KPIs that they discuss and agree with the ARU and are continually working towards. There should be some core metrics that are the same for each club and then a tailored set that accounts for each club’s unique situation. The ARU can again then pin point at any moment how each club is tracking against its KPIs.

If these measures were taken, then when this terrible situation occurred and the ARU had to make a choice between the Force and the Rebels, it should be relatively quick and well supported with solid evidence.

These situations are always terrible. Whether you are cutting a club from a major sporting league or breaking up with a girlfriend/boyfriend (and I imagine most of us have done at least one of those things before), the lesson is the same. Do it quickly and don’t leave people hanging on to hope or uncertainty.

People won’t like the decision and there’s nothing you can do about that. But you can make it so that they at least respect the process and that they weren’t left in limbo, knowing that they could be for the chop but not knowing when or how the decision will be made.

Having a clear strategy and performance tracking approach won’t make the result of the decision any less painful for those it impacts. But it will make the decision making process much quicker, more transparent and easier to cope with then the current debacle that we’re experiencing.

The ARU are lost. There seems to be a total lack of ability to think in a strategic manner or to manage their organisation in a way that is focused on tracking and improving performance. The current team there – and I’m not going to doubt their desire to do a good job – just seem to lack the experience or ability to lead a major sport in the current landscape.

Whatever the decision over who survives and who doesn’t, the way the ARU have handled this process should really serve as the last piece of evidence that wholesale changes are needed at the top of our game.

Advertisement
close